M.J. Bale's payWave power suit gives wearer a card up their sleeve

Steve Colquhoun

If you're always frantically fishing through your pockets for cash or plastic to pay for coffee or lunch, a world-first suit with a payment microchip embedded in the sleeve could be what you need.

The suit's Australian makers describe it as ''the world's most powerful suit'', and it's not hard to imagine the likes of James Bond or Maxwell Smart raising an eyebrow as you pay for lunch with a mere flick of your stylishly attired wrist across a payWave terminal.

Menswear retailer M.J. Bale devised the concept of sewing a small chip into the sleeve of a prototype run of suits to see whether its customers would embrace the idea.

Other ''wearable technology'' innovations, such as the face-mounted Google Glass computer, have so far met with a mixed reception, but activity-sensing fitness bands worn around the wrist are becoming increasingly popular.

The chip in the sleeve of M.J. Bale's ''Samurai'' suit is invisible, and the company's managing director, Matt Jensen, said it was designed to protect the overall appearance of the garment.

''What we wanted to do was look at ways of embracing technology, usability and wearability in a way that also reduces the requirement to carry things around, like wallets,'' he said.

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''We thought that by putting a Visa payWave-accessible chip in the cuff, you would not have so much heft or clutter in your pockets that bulk out the suit and alter the form and drape of the jacket.

''People are wearing things closer to the body, and Aussies are generally more athletic people, so we want leaner-cut suits. So it does have a benefit there in terms of the silhouette.''

The garment chosen to showcase the ''power suit'' is among the company's finest - made from 90 per cent Australian merino wool and 10 per cent cashmere, it is made by the company's tailors in Japan. Eventually though, the technology could be included in any tailored suit the company makes.

The suit initially takes a couple of swipes and a slightly awkward wrist movement to enact a transaction, although the manoeuvre becomes easier with practice.

The chip suffers no ill-effects from dry cleaning, and Mr Jensen said the risk of accidentally picking up a lunch tab is no greater than it is with any payWave-enabled credit card in your hand.

M.J. Bale teamed up with Visa and Queensland-based Heritage Bank for the pilot program, but Mr Jensen said eventually other banks would need to become involved if it put the payWave option into production.

''We're really trialling it, seeing how much traction it could get. From there we would develop things further,'' he said.

It's not difficult to imagine microchips eventually being embedded into other clothing, handbags or wristbands that could contain not just a payment option but also a driver's licence, passport or workplace security access details.

''I think there's more of this to come in clothing. Wearable technology is a really interesting part of our market,'' Mr Jensen said.

''We're still looking for other things that deliver technological or efficiency benefits to the wearer. Heat retention, water repellency, or more technological advances, like how to interact with your iPhone - that is a more interesting use of technology while you're wearing it.''